February 20, 2016 (2016-02-20) 2020 → Start date February 20, 2016 | 52.64% 47.29% | |
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The 2016 Nevada Democratic caucuses took place on February 20 in the U.S. state of Nevada, traditionally marking the Democratic Party's third nominating contest in their series of presidential primaries ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Contents
- Process
- State convention
- October 2015 debate in Las Vegas
- February 2016 forum in Las Vegas
- Opinion polling
- Results
- Analysis
- References
The Republican Party held its South Carolina primary on the same day, while their own Nevada caucuses would only take place three days later on February 23.
With all other candidates having dropped out of the race ahead of the Nevada caucuses, the two remaining candidates were Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.
Process
Of the total number of 43 delegates the Nevada Democratic Party may send to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, 35 are pledged and 8 are unpledged.
The delegate selection process is a system with three levels:
- The first step in the delegate selection process were the precinct caucuses on February 20, which elected about 12,000 delegates to the county conventions.
- At the county conventions on April 2, the county delegates selected about 4,000 delegates to the state convention.
- At the state convention on May 14–15, the final 35 pledged delegates to the National Convention will be selected. 23 of them are allocated proportionally based on congressional district results, whereas the remaining 12 are allocated based on the state convention as a whole.
State convention
The state convention was held in May as the final stage of the delegate selection process. Supports of Senator Sanders were angered when Party officials declined to accept the credentials of close to 60 pro-Sanders delegates. Nevada Democratic Party Chairwoman, Roberta Lange allegedly received numerous death threats and threats to the lives of her family and grandchildren, a criminal investigation has yet to confirm these claims or the identities of those allegedly involved. At the convention, Sanders supporters protested until the staff cancelled the event. The event was later criticized as being violent, although there is no evidence that violence occurred.
Despite charges by Sanders supporters that the Convention was rigged against their candidate, according to Jon Ralston, "the facts reveal that the Sanders folks disregarded rules, then when shown the truth, attacked organizers and party officials as tools of a conspiracy to defraud the senator of what was never rightfully his in the first place." After Sanders campaign Chair Jeff Weaver repeated assertions of process-rigging by Democratic Party officials, Politifact examined the evidence and concluded that, while the Party's selection process was "arcane" and "incredibly confusing", the fact is that "Clinton’s supporters simply turned out (attended the Convention) in larger numbers and helped her solidify her delegate lead." Moreover, according to Politifact: "There’s no clear evidence the state party 'hijacked' the process or ignored 'regular procedure.'"
The Nevada Democratic Party wrote to the Democratic National Committee accusing Sanders supporters of having a "penchant for extra-parliamentary behavior — indeed, actual violence — in place of democratic conduct in a convention setting." Sanders responded by denouncing the alleged use of violence while asserting that they were not treated with "fairness and respect" in a statement.
In a TV segment, comedian Samantha Bee reported on the fracas, as did Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Late Night with Seth Meyers in "A Closer Look" segment.
October 2015 debate in Las Vegas
On October 13, 2015, the Democratic Party's very first debate was held at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas. Hosted by Anderson Cooper, it aired on CNN and was broadcast on radio by Westwood One. Participants were the candidates Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Jim Webb, Martin O'Malley, and Lincoln Chafee. It was the first and only debate appearance of Chafee and Webb, who ended their campaigns on October 23 and October 20, respectively.
February 2016 forum in Las Vegas
On February 18, MSNBC and Telemundo hosted a forum in Las Vegas.
Opinion polling
Delegate count: 35 Pledged, 8 Unpledged
Results
Primary date: February 20, 2016
County conventions: April 2, 2016
State convention: May 14–15, 2016 (presumably)
National delegates: 43
Analysis
Clinton won the popular vote handily in the Nevada caucus, after a rough start to the primary season. With a razor-thin victory in Iowa and a crushing defeat in New Hampshire, Clinton rebounded to a five-point-win in the Silver State aided by late campaigning among casino workers. As The New York Times describes, "At a caucus at the famed Caesars Palace, blackjack dealers, pit bosses, cooks and housekeepers excitedly declared their support for the former secretary of state."
Clinton had campaigned heavily in the state, airing an ad in which she comforted a young Latina girl who was worried her parents would be deported. Clinton's message appeared to resonate with Hispanic and African American voters, with Clinton winning by large margins in many diverse neighborhoods in populous Clark County, especially in caucuses in Las Vegas.